Preview: Kings at Blackhawks

[March 30, 2015]  The Los Angeles Kings look to regain sole possession of third place in the Pacific Division when they wrap up a five-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Los Angeles won the first three contests of the trek before suffering a 4-1 setback to Minnesota on Saturday. Coach Darryl Sutter believes navigating the Pacific is the way to go toward a postseason berth for the reigning Stanley Cup-champion Kings, who reside one point behind third-place Calgary - as opposed to two in back of Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

"We still have the opportunity to get home ice, as desperate as we are," Sutter said. "We still have the opportunity to go home in two weeks, so it's one of the two. You're not going to get a wild-card spot. The wild card's out of the picture." Chicago leapfrogged the Wild into third place in the Central Division after posting a 4-3 victory over Winnipeg on Sunday. Captain Jonathan Toews burned his hometown team in heartbreaking fashion, deflecting defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson's blast with 31 seconds remaining in the third period to snap a tie.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, RSN, TVA, CSN Chicago

ABOUT THE KINGS (37-24-14): Jeff Carter notched an assist versus the Wild to extend his point streak to three games, during which he has scored one goal and set up two others. Carter also collected three points (two goals, one assist) in Los Angeles' 4-3 victory over Chicago on Jan. 28. Tyler Toffoli and defenseman Jake Muzzin each have scored and set up a goal in two meetings with the Blackhawks this season.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (45-24-6): Brad Richards and Patrick Sharp also scored against the Jets, and both veterans have recorded two points versus Los Angeles this season. Richards scored twice in Chicago's 4-1 victory on Nov. 29 and has collected 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in 28 career meetings with the Kings. Sharp collected a goal and an assist in the more recent encounter and has 20 goals and 36 points in 30 career contests against Los Angeles.

OVERTIME

1. Kings G Jonathan Quick saw his three-game winning streak halted after yielding two goals on nine shots before being pulled against Minnesota.

2. Chicago C Andrew Shaw scored his fourth goal in four games to reside one point shy of 100 for his career.

3. Los Angeles LW Dwight King scored against the Wild to snap his 19-game goalless drought.

PREDICTION: Kings 3, Blackhawks 2

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.